MLR3C2102 - Legislation: Consumer Credit Activities carried out within MSBs

MSBs will require a category A licence if as part of their business they lend money, offer credit or give people time to pay for goods and services such as hire purchase and cash/personal loans. Where a business’s main activity is bureau de change, money transmission or cheque cashing, many of the category A activities such as hire purchase are unlikely to be offered.

It is important to remember that cheque cashing as well as being a money service business is also a consumer credit activity requiring a category A licence.

The main consumer credit activities you are likely to find carried out by MSBs are the provision of short term high interest loans i.e. cheque cashing, pawn broking, log book loans, payday loans and unsecured cash loans. These will usually but not always, offered where the main money service business is cheque cashing.